David Willey led from the front as his 3-wicket haul restricted Manchester Originals to a paltry score before the batters came and completed the formalities as Trent Rockets thrashed Manchester Originals by 7 wickets at Trent Bridge Nottingham. David Willey bowled like a man on fire as his 3/11 in 20 balls alongside 2 wickets apiece from Rehan Ahmed and Samuel James Cook kept Manchester Originals down to 98/8 in 100 balls.
In the chase of 99 off 100 balls, Trent Rockets rode on Rehan Ahmed’s unbeaten 45 off 35 balls and Tom Moores’ 22* off 13 balls to get over the line in 74 balls despite losing the openers Tom Banton and Joe Root relatively early. The Manchester bowlers tried but they had too less a score to defend in the end.
David Willey’s 3/11 keeps Manchester Originals down to 98/8.Â
Put into bat first, Philip Salt and Ben McKinney came out to bat for Manchester Originals while David Willey the captain had ball in his hand for Trent Rockets. Willey made an immediate impact as he got rid of McKinney for a silver duck. Willey bowled a good length delivery on the stumps, McKinney played down the wrong line as the ball sneaked past his bat and crashed into his pads in front of the middle stump. Jos Buttler came out to bat next.
Lockie Ferguson came to bowl the next set as Jos Buttler got off the mark with a boundary. Buttler continued the dose for two more balls as he completed a hat-trick of boundaries over Ferguson in this set. Willey bowled a decent set as George Linde was introduced into the attack inside the powerplay. Linde kept things tight and bowled a decent set.
David Willey came to bowl the last set of powerplay and he got rid of Jos Buttler for 19 off 16 balls with 3 boundaries to his name. Willey bowled a good length delivery angling across the off-stump, Buttler threw his hands at it but the ball kissed the edge and flew to the keeper’s gloves for a regulation catch. Rachin Ravindra came out to bat next as Manchester Originals at the end of 25 balls of powerplay were 26/2.
Willey continued and got rid of Ravindra for a golden duck. He bowled a length delivery on the off-stump with a hint of shape away as Rachin tried to flirt with it but the ball got the edge and nested in the keeper’s gloves. Heinrich Klaasen came and negated the hat-trick ball. Linde bowled a tight set as Manchester couldn’t go anywhere. Marcus Stoinis came onto bowl and finally Salt broke the shackles by hitting a boundary off Stoinis.
Rehan Ahmed came into the attack next and bowled a decent set. Rehan decided to bowl the next set as well as Klaasen hit him for a streaky boundary. Rehan got his man in the end as he dismissed Heinrich Klaasen for 9 off 16 balls with a boundary to his name. Rehan bowled a length delivery on the stumps, Klaasen swung hard and holed out in the deep as Sam Hain took the catch easily. Matthew Hurst came out to bat next. After 50 balls at the halfway stage of the innings, Manchester Originals were 44/4.
George Linde bowled another tight set giving hardly anything away. Samuel James Cook came into the attack now. Cook struck straightaway as he got rid of Hurst for 3 off 6 balls. Cook bowled a pace-off delivery on a driveable length outside off, Hurst lunged across and ended up hitting uppishly to Root at cover point who dived to his right to pouch the catch. Lewis Gregory came out to bat next. Rehan Ahmed then got the big wicket of Philip Salt for 19 off 20 balls with a boundary to his name.
Rehan bowled a good length delivery from over the wicket at the stumps, Salt unfurled the brash slog sweep and picked out Linde at backward square leg boundary who did well to pluck the ball out of thin air. Scott Currie came out to bat next. Rehan Ahmed completed his miserly spell as well. After 75 balls, Manchester Originals were struggling at 61/6.
Cook got another as he got rid of Currie for 4 off 11 balls. He hurled on a good length outside off, Currie wanted to slam it towards the straight boundary, but the ball seemed to have held in the wicket. Hence, he could only hit it back to the bowler who gobbled it in his follow-through. Noor Ahmad came out to bat next. Cook bowled a miserly set giving nothing away. Marcus Stoinis got his first wicket of the day as he got rid of Noor Ahmad for a fourth ball duck.
Stoinis bowled a good length ball outside off, Noor stood with a firm base and tried to hammer it to the straight boundary, but ended up miscuing it completely. The ball went straight up in the air as keeper Moores had enough time to settle underneath it and take the catch. Josh Tongue came out to bat next.
Cook gifted 5 wides to the batting team before Gregory launched Cook over long-on for the maximum. Tongue survived a scare as the ball from Cook got the edge but didn’t quite carry to the keeper Moores. Gregory took Lockie Ferguson to the cleaners as he hit him for a boundary before launching him for a maximum. He also hit a boundary off a no ball, but the free hit yielded a single to end the innings. Manchester Originals ended with 98/8 in 100 balls with Gregory remaining unbeaten on 33 off 21 balls with 2 fours and 2 sixes to his name while Josh Tongue remained unbeaten on 1 off 4 balls. 10 extras given by the fielding side.
David Willey was the pick of the bowlers for Trent Rockets finishing with 3/11 in 20 balls as the captain led from the front. He was ably supported by Rehan Ahmed and Samuel James Cook. Rehan finished with 2/14 in 20 balls while Cook finished with 2/21 in 20 balls. Marcus Stoinis got a wicket in his 1/8 in 10 balls while George Linde on debut gave away 13 runs in 20 balls without taking a wicket while Lockie Ferguson was hit for 31 runs in 10 balls. This meant Trent Rockets needed 99 runs off 100 balls to win this match and consolidate second position in points table.
Rehan Ahmed’s 45* takes Trent Rockets to a convincing win.Â
Chasing 99 for the win, Tom Banton and Joe Root came out to bat for Trent Rockets while Sonny Baker had ball in hand for Manchester Originals. Baker gifted away 5 wides to the Rockets straightaway. Banton also got his first boundary away off Baker through extra cover. Josh Tongue came to bowl the next set as Banton welcomed him with a boundary. Banton was then dropped by Ravindra off Tongue at cover point albeit a tough chance.
Baker got the first breakthrough for Manchester Originals getting rid of Joe Root for 4 off 6 balls. Hard length delivery with pace on the ball, Root shuffled a long way to the off-side and looked to lap it over fine leg but was a little late to move this time. The ball went straight up in the air as Buttler took the catch easily. Rehan Ahmed walked out to bat at 3. Rachin Ravindra came into the attack next inside the powerplay and got rid of Tom Banton for 11 off 10 balls with 2 boundaries to his name.
Ravindra bowled on a good length at the stumps, Banton went for the reverse sweep and missed it as the ball crashed onto the front pad. The appeal was given OUT. Banton reviewed and burnt the review for the team. Max Holden came to the crease next. Tongue came back to bowl the final set of powerplay as Rehan hit him for consecutive boundaries. At the end of 25 balls of powerplay in the chase, Trent Rockets were 30/2 needing another 69 runs off 75 balls.
Noor Ahmad was introduced into the attack post the powerplay and bowled a decent first set. Rehan then launched Ravindra for the maximum over cow corner. Rehan was in the groove as he smashed a maximum and then a boundary off Noor. Scott Currie came into the attack next as Holden got into the act and pulled him for a boundary. Tongue got a wicket to his name as he got rid of Holden for 7 off 11 balls with a boundary to his name.
Tongue bowled an off-pace delivery speared at the off-stumps from around the wicket, Holden was far too early in the drive as Salt at mid-off moved to his right before diving to take the catch one-handed. Tom Moores came out to bat next and got off the mark. After 50 balls in the chase, Trent Rockets were 63/3 needing a further 36 runs to win off 50 balls.
Moores made his intentions clear as he smashed Ravindra for a boundary and followed that up with a maximum. Noor bowled a tight set but there was no pressure on the batting side now. Moores once again hit Ravindra for a boundary. Rehan then hit Noor for a boundary. Rehan had been dismissed by Noor but replays showed a back foot no ball and so he survived and the free hit followed which yielded a dot ball. Manchester Originals also burnt a review over a LBW appeal against Rehan Ahmed off Currie but it was more in hope than anything else.
The winning runs came off the blade of Rehan Ahmed as he smashed Currie for a boundary through extra covers as the 100 came up as well for Trent Rockets as the hosts won by 7 wickets with 26 balls left. Rehan Ahmed remained unbeaten on 45 off 35 balls with 5 fours and 2 sixes to his name while Tom Moores remained unbeaten on 22 off 13 balls with 2 fours and a maximum to his name. 12 extras given by the fielding side.
A wicket apiece for Sonny Baker, Josh Tongue and Rachin Ravindra. But it was too low a score to defend and so Manchester were way off the pace at Trent Bridge. So, Trent Rockets won by 7 wickets and for his outstanding bowling performance leading from the front, David Willey was awarded the Player of the Match.
With this win, Trent Rockets consolidated their place in second place as they have 16 points from 5 games same as Oval but behind on Net Run Rate. Manchester Originals, on the other hand, slipped to 6th place having played 6 games and won 2 and lost 4 with 8 points to their kitty.
What Lies Ahead.Â
We have a double-header instore for all the fans in Hundred 2025 on Wednesday. First up, it is going to be Welsh Fire taking on Southern Brave from Sophia Gardens in Cardiff at 7:30 PM IST and which will be followed by London Spirit taking on Northern Superchargers at Lord’s in London at 11 PM IST.
So, double the action, double the fan in Hundred 2025 as the action heats up towards the business end of the tournament as we have completed 20 games so far and 12 more league games to go before the two knockout games. So, a lot to look forward to for all of us in Hundred 2025.
Also Read: Hundred 2025: Tom Moores’ Explosive 50 Takes Trent Rockets Over The Line Against Southern Brave